A large investor has lost approximately $6.09 million in the cryptocurrency Gigachad (Giga) as a result of a phishing attack. The attackers utilized a fake invitation to a Zoom conference to distribute malware.
According to a blockchain monitoring service, scammers were able to access three cryptocurrency accounts, from which 95.27 million GIGA tokens were withdrawn. The stolen funds were then converted to 11.759 SOL, approximately $2.1 million. This led to a significant drop in the GIGA meme-coin exchange rate from $0.63 to $0.54.
Subsequently, the attackers exchanged the received SOL for USDT and USDC stablecoins. A portion of the funds, amounting to 700 SOL, was transferred to the centralized Kucoin exchange via intermediary addresses.
The affected investor, known on the social network X* as “Still in the Game”, confirmed that the sharp decline in the cryptocurrency’s value was indeed a result of the phishing attack. As of the latest update, the GIGA rate has dropped by an additional 15%, standing at $0.049.
The investigation of this incident is being handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigations of the United States and a team of forensic experts. SCAM Sniffer, a group specializing in identifying cryptocurrency fraud, observed the similarity between the fake link used in the attack and a legitimate Zoom address.
Phishing attacks disguised as authentic Zoom invitations are becoming more prevalent, with scammers frequently employing social engineering tactics to gain the trust of their victims. They may impersonate trusted contacts or create a false sense of urgency to divert attention away from minor discrepancies in URLs.
Earlier this year, a cybersecurity engineer warned about a similar attack targeting NFT owners, where fake Zoom invitations were used as lures. Clicking on these links led to a counterfeit video conference interface that encouraged the installation of malware for data theft.
* Please note that the social network mentioned is restricted